The efficacy of previewing and providing background knowledge on EFL reading comprehension

The Efficacy of Previewing and Providing Background

Knowledge on EFL Reading Comprehension

Zhaonua Shen

Thesis submitted as partial requirement for the degree of Master of Arts of the Australian National University

Except where otherwise indicated this

thesis is my own work

Acknowledgements

During the process of completing this thesis, many people have helped

me and encouraged me. First of all, sincere gratitude is extended to my

supervisor, Dr. Louise Jansen. Without her systematic guidance, insightful

comments, continuing encouragement and kind patience, I could not possibly

have written this thesis. My deepest gratitude is also extended to Dr. Tony

Liddicoat who helped me to spell out my ideas more clearly at an early stage

which has been essential to this study.

My gratitude is extended to the staff in the Academic Skills and Learning

Centre of the ANU who always offered helpful advice on my thesis; I would

particularly like to express my heartfelt thanks to Dr. Gail Craswell who read

everything I wrote in its earlier and later drafts and helped me search the English

language for the exact expression.

Over this year, I have discussed aspects of this thesis with my friends.

Some not only influenced my thinking but also took the time to comment

verbally or in writing, on various bits and pieces. My warm thanks go to Safari

Arsyad, Mark Pinster, Fuchun Huang, Xi Liu and Xiaobing Wu.

Special thanks is certainly due to my colleagues Xiliang Gou, Jiangun

Abstract

Research by Anderson (1977) Steffensen, Joag-Dev and Anderson

(1979), Carrell (1987), Kang (1992) has shown that because of differences in

culture or expertise, EFL students experience comprehension difficulty.

However, when provided with prereading activities, their comprehension

maximizes considerably (Carrell 1983, Taglieber 1988, Chen and Graves 1995).

Research has shown that both providing background knowledge and previewing

are effective for both LI and L2 readers. (Pearson, Hansen and Gordon 1979,

Birkmire 1985, Grabe 1991, Graves and Cooke 1980, Graves, Cooke and

Laberge 1983, Chen and Graves 1995).

further demonstrate that

The.

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whether preview and background knowledge differ in their effectiveness for

improving comprehension in other text types. Also, so far, no research has been

done on the longer-term effect of prereading activities. It is expected that

information rehearsal will enrich preview and background knowledge and these

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This study, which builds on Chen and Graves (1995) is informed by the ^ Gh cv n c 6

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following three research questions: 1) Is previewing superior to background

° i p r e i / t ' e i A j

enrich prereading activities so as to enhance the efficacy of preview and

t o ex^mi background knowledge? 3) Is the facilitative effect o f schemata on reading

comprehension increased when schemata are enriched? -f&ci W tw h V e e f f e c t of

S c h e m a t a oh y e o c f tc i

Comprehension ift ere 0^ * 0*

In this study, I used randomized experimental, control groups and.

rich I

immediately after the groups received the prereading activities and the reading of

the first text. The second test in which none of the groups (A, B & C) received

the prereading activities, was administered 2 weeks after the immediate post test

to measure if information rehearsal contributes to the longer term efficacy of

preview and background knowledge. Data were ananlysed using the SPSS

Eackage o f statistical procedures .

in This s t u d y , i S n < m -£ n g i;sh S o p h o i W e a t t e n d , ' ^ ^ c p k *

? \ n i / e r r i t y in mpdrtiftnoi Chin^. W e r t r a n d o m l y

t o o r e of

The results show first that in the short term, background knowledge is i -Tl v.

Condi id on5 '

reao l t h e narrative. However, in the longer term, it’s previewing rather than providing tv .jo c^oSen

(doc U rg e n t A background knowledge that promotes EFL reading comprehension. Second,

information rehearsal do have an effect on the efficacy of previewing and Before the» f i r s t V e e nH t background knowledge.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements...ii

Abstract...iv

Table of Contents...vii

List of Tables...x

List of Figures...xi

Introduction... 1

Chapter 1 Review of the Literature

... 6

1.1 Introduction...6

1.2 A Brief History of Models of Reading...7

1.2.1 Reading as a Bottom-up Process... 7

1.2.2 The Psycholinguistic Model of Reading... 8

1.2.3 The Bottom-up and Top-down Model of Reading...9

1.2.4 The Schema-Theoretical Model of Reading... 10

1.3 Schema Theory... 11

1.3.1 The Function of Schemata in the Process of Reading

Comprehension... 13

1.3.1.1 Ideational Scaffolding... 13

1.3.1.2 Default Values... 15

1.3.1.3 Allocation of Attention... 15

1.3.1.4 Orderly Searches of Memory...16

1.3.1.5 Summary... 17

1.4 The Rationale of Prereading Activities and Information Rehearsal...17

1.4.1 The Rationale of Background Knowledge...18

1.4.2 The Rationale for Using Previewing... 20

1.4.3 The Role of Information Rehearsal... 21

Chapter 2 Review of Empirical Studies... 23

2.1 Introduction...23

2.2 Studies on Providing Prereading Activities which Facilitate ESL Readers’

Comprehension...23

2.3 Research on Prereading Activities and LI and L2 Readers...26

2.3.1 Research on Background Knowledge in LI and L2... 27

2.3.2 Review of Preview Research in LI and L2 Readers...28

Chapter 3 Methodology of the Study 31

3.1 Introduction... 31

3.2 Research Design...31

3.2.1 Hypotheses and Subhypotheses... 34

3.3 Instrument... 37

3.3.1 Reading Selection... 37

3.3.2 Two Prereading Treatments... 38

3.3.2.1 The Preview Treatment... 39

3.3.2.2 The Background Knowledge Treatment...41

3.3.3 Testing... 42

3.3.3.1 The Construction of Comprehension Questions... 42

3.3.3.2 The Reliability of the Test Results in the Two Tests... 45

3.3.3.3 The Construction of Reading Comprehension Questions... 46

3.3.3.3.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Multiple Choice and True or False Questions...46

3.3.3.3.2 Standards for Constructing Multiple Choice and True or False Questions... 47

3.4 Data Collection... 47

3.4.1 Selection of Participants...47

3.4.2 Procedures of Data Collection... 48

3.5 Data Analysis... 50

3.5.1 Scoring... 50

3.5.2 Choosing Statistics... 51

Chapter 4 Results and Interpretation... 52

4.1 Introduction... 52

4.2.Results...52

4.2.1 Research Hypothesis 1...52

4.2.2 Research Hypothesis 2 ...55

4.2.3 Research Hypothesis 3 ...58

4.3 Discussion... 64

4.3.1 Interpreting the Results of Hypothesis 1... 64

4.3.2 Interpreting the Results of Hypothesis 2 ... 67

4.3.3 Interpreting the Results of Hypothesis 3 ... 70

Chapter 5 Future Research and Implications... 74

5.1 Introduction... 74

5.2 Suggestions for Future Research... 74

5.3 Implications and Applications for EFL Reading Classrooms... 77

5.3.1 Materials Selection and Reading Programs... 77

5.3.2 Key Vocabulary Instruction... 79

5.3.3 Prereading Activities... 81

5.4 Concluding Statements... 82

References...84

Appendix A: Preview For Experimental Group A ... 96

Background Knowledge Passage for Experimental Group B Appendix B: Text One and Test One...101

Text Two and Test Two Appendix C: Three Groups of Ten Words and Phrases...116

Appendix D: Instructions to the Teachers in China for Conducting Prereading Activities...117

List of Tables

Table 3.1 Research Design...32

Table 4.1 The Mean Ranks of The Three Groups ( A, B & C) in Test 1... 54

Table 4.2 Ryan Procedure: Comparison of Critical Values and Z Values of

the Three Groups in Test 1...55

Table 4.3 The Mean Ranks of the Three Groups ( A, B & C ) in Test 2 ... 57

Table 4.4 Ryan Procedure: Comparison of Critical Values and Z Values

of the Three Groups in Test 2...58

Table 4.5 Comparison of the Students' Performance in Group A (Preview) in

Test 1 and Test 2 ... 59

Table 4.6 Comparison of the Students' Performance in Group B ( Background

Knowledge) in Test 1 and Test 2... 61

Table 4.7 Comparison of the Students' Performance in Group C in Test 1 and

List of Figures

Figure 1.1 A Possible Representation of the Chinese Candy-Buying Schema... 12

Figure 3.1 Four Information Rehearsal Processes Provide Access Routes to

Information Input... 33

Figure 4.1 Average Scores of the Three Groups (A, B & C) in Test 1... 53

Figure 4.2 Average Scores of the Three Groups (A, B & C) in Test 2 ... 56

Figure 4.3 Average Scores of Group A ( Preview ) in Test 1 and Test 2 ... 60

INTRODUCTION

Students o f English as a foreign language experience considerable difficulty in

comprehending English texts. One reason for this is that texts sometimes contain

unfamiliar concepts or culture-specific elements (Tagliber, Johnson & Yarbrough,

1988). According to Fillmore (1997:45), writers generally assume a level o f prior

knowledge and cultural and real world experience when they write, depending on the

background o f the readers o f their texts. It is difficult though for readers, especially for

English Second language/ English Foreign Language readers, to comprehend materials

that presuppose cultural background knowledge, and experiences that they do not

already have. The following empirical research will give you a glimpse o f the

difficulties that ESL readers at different proficiency levels encounter when they are

reading materials which require cultural schemata or expertise.

The research between the 1970s and 1990s on differences in culture or expertise

reviewed here usually involves two groups o f readers who read two passages on two

topics, each o f which is familiar to one group but unfamiliar to the other. These studies

have reported strong effects o f background knowledge on reading comprehension.

Anderson et al. (1977) used two passages of about 145 words each. Each

passage could be given at least two distinct interpretations. One passage could be

interpreted as being about either a convict planning his escape or a wrestler trying to

break the hold o f an opponent. The other passage could be interpreted as being about

passages were given to subjects from the physical education department and to subjects

from the music department. The results indicated that the interpretation which people

give to a message is influenced by their backgrounds. In discussing the implications of

schema theory, Anderson et al. (1977: 378) state: "It may turn out that many problems

in reading comprehension are traceable to deficits in knowledge rather than deficits in

linguistic skill."Thus, it appeal's that the readers may not have the schemata needed to

comprehend passages or they may have relevant schemata but do not know how to use

them in comprehension.

A study by Steffensen, Joag-Dev and Anderson (1979) did not use language

specifically as a variable, since the participants were American native English speakers

and Indians (natives o f India) whose English proficiency was very high. However, the

study addressed the issue o f cultural differences in background knowledge and how this

knowledge assists or interferes with comprehension. The researchers presented separate

letters about an American and an Indian wedding to university students whose native

culture was either American or Indian. They had the students read descriptions o f the

weddings. Since wedding customs differ in America and India, members o f both groups

read the descriptions from the other culture more slowly than the one from their own.

They not only remembered more details o f the weddings in their own culture and

remembered them more accurately, they were also able to draw correct inferences from

the description o f the weddings in their own culture. This suggests that readers make

use o f a wedding schema that is specific to their culture in interpreting the meaning o f a

Participants also often drew incorrect inferences from the description of the

wedding from the other culture, based on the wedding schema in their own culture. For

example, the description of the American wedding included a mention that the bride

wore her grandmother’s wedding gown. An Indian participant reported, in the recall

protocol, that the dress was unfortunately, old and out of fashion, a comment which

would fit the Indian view that it is important for the bride’s family to show their

economic status by providing a new, fashionable wedding sari for the bride to wear.

American readers, in contrast, emphasized the aspect of family tradition involved in the

bride wearing her grandmother’s dress, which fits with the schema for an American

wedding.

In addition, recall protocols were often vague in areas where the readers did not

have schemata. For example, the text on the Indian wedding contained details about the

gifts exchanged by the families. Indian respondents not only tended to remember what

the gifts were, they commented on the significance of the gifts. In contrast, recalls by

Americans o f the gifts exchanged were vague and did not include any information about

the significance o f the gifts.

This study is an indication that, even in the native language or a strong second

language, a reader’s knowledge o f the schematic background o f a text greatly aids

comprehension. In addition, lack o f an appropriate schema for a text hampers accurate

Johnson’s (1981) study investigated the effects o f text complexity and cultural

background on comprehension. She found that for second language readers, cultural

background had a greater effect on their ability to understand the text than did semantic

and syntactic complexity. Johnson had American participants and intermediate and

advanced Iranian participants read simplified or unsimplified versions o f two passages,

one based on American folklore and one on Iranian folklore. For Iranians, she found an

interaction between cultural background and language complexity for the total number

o f events recalled. Like the Iranians, Americans produced more inferences from the

culturally familiar story than the unfamiliar one.

The results o f this study indicate firstly that Iranian second language readers

make use o f domain-related schemata in their text comprehension, and secondly that

schemata are more important than language complexity in making inferences from the

text.

Carrell’s (1987) study involved 28 Muslim Arabs and 24 Catholic Hispanic ESL

students o f high-intermediate proficiency enrolled in an English program at a mid-

western university in America. Each student read two texts, one with Muslim-oriented

content and the other with Catholic-oriented content. After reading each text, the

subjects answered a series o f multiple-choice comprehension questions and were asked

to recall the text in writing. Analysis o f the recall protocols and scores on

comprehension and recall suggested that participants better comprehended and

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An interesting study was earned out by Kang (1992). Kang’s study examined

how second language readers filter information from second language texts through

culture specific background knowledge. Korean graduate students with advanced

English profiency read stories and answered questions. A think-aloud protocol assessing

their understanding and inferences indicated an effect of culture specific schemata and

inferences upon text comprehension.

Although all the variables and factors surrounding the issues o f how culture

shapes background knowledge and influences reading are not fully understood, there is

agreement in these studies that background knowledge is important, and that content

schemata play an integral role in reading comprehension.

Overall, ESL readers appeared to have a higher level o f comprehension when

the content was familiar to them. Given this, second language readers who do not

possess the content schemata that writers of teaching materials of western countries

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REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

1.1 Introduction

As discussed previously, empirical studies substantiate that lack o f or

inability to make use o f cultural and expertise schemata can be sources o f problems in

ESL/ EFL reading comprehension. It is obvious that schemata hold much promise for

our understanding, especially as it occurs in a second or foreign language and culture.

Therefore, this chapter discusses different views of the reading process, schemata and

what specific functions schemata may serve, and the rationale behind the prereading

activities and information rehearsal.

First, I will describe how models o f the reading process have evolved recently

from passive, to active, to interactive. The interactive model o f reading includes the

psycholinguistic model o f reading, top-down and bottom-up model o f reading and

schema-theoretical model of reading. I then introduce schemata and illustrate the way in

which schemata function in reading comprehension. Finally, I describe the rationale

supporting two prereading activities—providing background knowledge and previewing

1.2 A Brief History of Models of Reading

As far back as 1932, Bartlett (cited in Carrell & Eisterhold 1983) is credited with

first proposing the concept o f schemata. He arrived at the concept from studies of

memory he conducted in which subjects read a story from an unfamiliar culture. Their

memory o f the story changed over time to fit the schemata of their own culture. He

suggested that memory takes the form of schemata which provide a mental framework

for understanding and remembering information. Yet, it was not until three decades

later that wider interest in Bartlett’s theories developed.

Since the 1970s, there has been a revival o f interest among psycholinguists and

scholars in Bartlett’s schema theory. One area in which schema theory has stimulated a

great deal o f interest is in the area o f reading. In the following section, I will explore

how models o f the reading processes have evolved recently from passive to active, to

interactive. What is meant by bottom-up and top-down processing? What are the

different senses in which the term ‘interactive’ is used to describe the ESL reading

process?

1.2.1 Reading as a Bottom-up Process

The models o f LaBerge and Samuels (1974) propose that reading is a process of

building symbols into words, words into sentences, and sentences into overall meaning

(1974: 34). The model reflects traditional attitudes toward reading, which are referred to

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as a bottom-up process because the reader begins with the lowest level, features of

symbols, from which the symbols are identified (Gough 1972, cited in David and

Rivers 1964, LaBerge & Samuels 1974), second language reading is "a process of

building up a meaning for a text from the smallest units at the "bottom" (letters and

words) to large units at the "top" (phrases, clauses, intersentential linkages)" (Can-ell

1988a: 2). However, many studies (e.g. Stevens and Rumelhart 1975, Schank 1973)

show that lower level processes (identification o f words and letters) are influenced by

higher level processes (knowledge about the context) (Stanovich 1980: 34).

1.2.2 The Psycholinguistic Model o f Reading

Goodman’s psycholinguistic model o f reading (1970) was among the first to

spark the recent view o f reading as an interaction among different levels o f processing,

rather than a bottom-up process. It introduced the idea that reading, far from being

passive, is an active process, with emphasis on both, active and process. Goodman has

described reading as a "psycholinguistic guessing game," in which the "reader

reconstructs... a message which has been encoded by a writer as a graphic display." In

this model, the reader does not need to (and the efficient reader does not) use all o f the

textual cues. (Goodman, 1970: 111) The more able the reader is to make correct

predictions, the less confirming through the text is necessary (Goodman, 1970: 113).

According to Goodman, what happens "behind the eye" is as important as what is on the

printed page (Goodman, 1970: 113)

Smith (1971) has been another strong and influential proponent o f the

psycholinguistic model o f reading. He has emphasized the role o f what he refers to as

non-visual information. Smith characterizes the role o f non-visual information as

coming up in the text based on syntactic, semantic, and background information (Smith

1971: 65-67).

Although both Goodman and Smith do emphasize that what happens "behind the

eye" and non-visual information is as important as what is printed on the page, they do

not deal with schema theory directly (Carrell 1988a : 2-3).

According to Carrell and Eisterhold (1988:74), it was Coady who elaborated on

the psycholinguistic model o f reading (Coady 1979 cited in Carrell and Eisterhold). He

suggested a model in which the ESL reader’s background knowledge interacts with

conceptual abilities and process strategies to produce comprehension (Carrell and

Eisterhold 1988: 74). Coady emphasizes the role o f background knowledge in reading

comprehension.

7.2.3 The Bottom-up and Top-down Model o f Reading

Beginning with Rumelhart (1977), researchers have proposed interactive

models o f reading, arguing that lower-level and higher-level processes work together

interactively as parts of the reading process (Grabe 1988: 58).

Rumelhart’s interactive-activation model (1977) and Stanovich’s interactive-

compensatory model (1980) view reading as interactive, a combination o f top-down and

bottom-up processing. Top-down processing refers to the making o f predictions about

the text based on background and expectation then checking the text for confirmation.

Bottom-up processing refers to the decoding o f individual units (e.g. phonemes,

and then modifying preexisting background knowledge and current predictions on the

basis of information encountered in the text (Carrell 1988b : 101) . According to these

interactive models, the interactive processes o f reading, which allow processing at one

level (e.g. word perception) to interact with processing at another level (e. g. semantic

knowledge), are superior to either strictly bottom-up, decoding or strictly top-down,

predicting (Samuels and Kamil 1988: 27-31).

1.2.4 The Schema-Theoretical Model o f Reading

Anderson and Pearson (1988) introduced another type o f interactive model of

reading, namely a schema-theoretical model. They show how reading comprehension

involves the interaction between old and new information. They focus on “how the

reader’s schemata, or knowledge already stored in memory function in the process o f

interpreting new information and allowing it to enter and become a pail o f the

knowledge store” (1988: 37).

The schema-theoretical model of reading, along with the psycho linguistic and

interactive models o f reading, is an effective counterweight to bottom-up models of

reading. As Anderson (1984) has pointed out, schema theory has challenged our

thinking about issues such as how information in a text is assimilated, how inferences

are made, and how a text is remembered. The following sections will address schema

theory specifically and illustrate the way in which schemata function in providing

ideational scaffolding, default values, retrieving information in memory and allocating

1.3 Schema Theory

According to Anderson, Reynolds, Schallert, and Goetz (1977), schemata are

previously acquired knowledge structures, made up o f "slots" or "placeholders".

Schemata include information about constraints on what can fill a particular slot,

including default values to be used if the slot is not filled (Anderson, 1978), and what

the relationships are among the slots (Graesser, Woll, Kowalski, & Smith, 1980).

Schemata tell us what is essential, expected and possible in a certain situation (Van

Dijk, 1977). Schemata are arranged hierarchically from the most general to the most

specific information (Anderson, 1978).

There are two broad types o f schemata (Carrell & Eisterhold 1983): content

schemata and formal schemata. Content schemata, which contain general or specific

information on a given topic, come through real-life experiences. Formal schemata

contain information about how rhetoric is organized and come from the knowledge of

different text types and genres. The latter is not o f concern in this study, which focuses

only on the role o f content schemata in reading comprehension.

Although definition o f a schema is not consistent and may refer to a variety o f

different constructs, the various definitions have several points in common (see

Rumelhart & Ortony, 1977). Rumelhart and Ortony define a schema simply, as a

general knowledge structure used for understanding. Recently, Medin and Ross (1992)

clarified Rumelhart and Ortony’s ideas on schema in some detail:

facts are related. This structure is part of what allows a schema to be used for inferring. Fourth, a schema is used in comprehension. The structure of the schema is such that it includes how the knowledge is related in this type of situation, but it does not include information about any exact situation (Medin and Ross, 1992: 346-347).

Figure 1.1 provides an illustrative example o f a schema for candy buying in

China. Although such a schema would contain all the knowledge about candy buying,

the figure presents only a simplified version. A schema is viewed as consisting o f a

frame that includes slots for particular information (Anderson and Pearson 1988: 43).

So, a candy-buying frame would have slots for the buyer, what kind o f candy was

purchased (e.g., both the form and the flavor), the seller, and the amount paid.

Understanding this typical candy buying situation "consists of filling in these slots"

(Anderson and Pearson 1988: 34). Although the schema for candy-buying would

include knowledge that someone buys some type o f candy, the schema is general and

would not contain the particular person or particular candy, as indicated below:

Figure 1.1: A Possible Representation of the Chinese Candy-Buying

Schema

CHINESE CANDY-BUYING

SCHEMA

Buyer (Person)

Payment (Small amount of money)

Flavor (e.g. mint, coconut,

straw-berry, chocolate, etc.)

Seller (e.g. salesperson in a

store, market vendor, etc.)

Item-purchased (e.g. boiled

1.3.1 The Functions o f Schemata in the Process o f Reading Comprehension

For the purpose o f my study, I am interested in the use o f content schemata in

the process o f reading comprehension. Schema theory holds that no text, either spoken

or written, carries meaning by itself; rather a text only provides directions for readers as

to how they should construct meaning from their own schema (Anderson, 1984:248).

Comprehension involves filling in a schema’s slots with particular information and

making inferences based on the information that is given and on information from the

schema (see Anderson & Pichert 1978). In the following sections, we will see various

ways in which schemata may function in achieving comprehension. They provide

"ideational scaffolding", make default inferences, allocate attention and retrieve

information from memory.

1.3.1.1 "Ideational Scaffolding"

A schema embodies a structural organization o f the information it represents. If

most text information fits into the slots within the schema, the text is readily

comprehended with little mental effort (Anderson, Spiro & Anderson 1978). In this

sense, the schema is a "scaffold" in aiding comprehension. I again use "the Chinese

candy-buying schema" to show how the ideational scaffolding functions to fill in the

slots with particular information when comprehension actually happens, and provide a

relevant text based on my diary.

about 160 bags. Each bag had boiled sweets, chocolate fudge etc. in a variety o f flavors, such as mint, coconut, chocolate. When she went through the checkout, the sales girl said that she hoped that "Double Happinesses’ would sweeten up her wedding and also her life.

The following analysis shows that most o f the information in the diary generally

fits in the candy-buying schema and provides readers with confidence to comprehend

the diary.

As mentioned above, the frame has at least five slots in a reader’s schema about

buying candy. When a reader reads the diary, the five slots in his/her schema about

buying candy can be "instantiated" (Anderson & Pearson 1988:42) with particular

information. For example, <the buyer> slot is filled by Huahua. Boiled sweets and

chocolate fudge are consistent with the <item-purchased>. ‘Double Happinesses’ is

obviously a well-known name of a candy for weddings in China. The mint, coconut and

chocolate fit with the slot <flavor>. The slot <payment> can be instantiated with $ 5.00.

When a schema is activated and used to interpret the diary, the slots are "

instantiated" for particular information, as shown above. In addition to filling in the

slots with particular' information, the slots contain restrictions about what information

can fill them (Anderson 1978). For example, in the candy-buying schema, it is not

permissible to have the<buyer> slot filled by "mint" or to have the candy flavor filled

by "Huahua."

From the above example, we can see how a schema functions in providing

ideational scaffolding for understanding the diary passage by understanding appropriate

slots and filling in the slots with the details o f the particular information. Since most of

can easily draw the conclusion that the diary entry is probably about candy-buying

rather than an advertisement for ‘Double Happinesses’.

1,3.1.2 Default Values

A schema also contains default values for each slot (Minsky 1975). If a text fails

to mention some piece of information, the reader fills the slot with a value that he/she

knows to be typical in the slot (Minsky 1975). For example, if a reader reads, when she

went through the checkout, the salesgirl said that she hoped that ‘Double Happinesses ’

would sweeten up her wedding and also her life. A reader can assume that she paid for

the candy (a default value) rather than stole it. The writer does not mention the

procedure o f paying money at the checkout, but a reader can infer that there was a

procedure o f paying money involved. In this way, a reader's schema can provide the

basis for making inferences that go beyond the literally stated information to complete

the meaning of the text.

1.3.1.3 Allocation o f Attention.

Schemata used in selective attention have been defined as guiding readers’

deliberate decisions and actions designed to focus cognitive resources on certain kinds

o f information in a text in order to comprehend and remember them (Wilson &

Anderson 1986:35)

According to Mayer (1989: 46), meaningful learning depends on three basic

processes: selecting, organizing, and integrating information. The first process,

attention on the information on learners' understanding o f a target passage. The second

process, organizing, involves arranging the units o f selected information into a coherent

mental structure. Mayer (1989: 47) refers to this step as "building internal connections"

or constructing logical relations between ideas in the text. The third process, integrating,

involves connecting the coherently organized information to existing cognitive

structures. This process is also referred to as "building external connections" because it

entails linking information from the text to information that is external to the text but

internal to the reader (Mayer, 1989: 46). The more elaborate and rich the internal and

external connections between units of information, the more available and accessible

the information is for later use (Prawat, 1989: 6-7).

1.3.1.4 Orderly Searches o f Memory

In addition to the important role that schemata play in providing ideational

scaffolding, default value and guiding readers for allocating cognitive resources, "

schemata are assumed to be the guiding forces behind remembering as well" (Rumelhart

1980: 49). A schema has slots for certain types o f information. When the text contains

certain types o f omission, a schema can guide readers to seek the information that needs

to be recalled to function as orderly searches of memory while they are reading

(Anderson & Pichert 1978).

The following personal example illustrates how a schema functions in retrieving

information. Some time ago, I attempted to find an article which I had already read in

the library. I needed to instigate a search. However, in this case, the search was not

random. It was guided by schemata that represented the layout o f the library. Knowing

to find it. Note that the location of this journal was not my goal in the memory search

for the article. When I found the journal, I used my knowledge of its structure to guide

me to the appropriate location of that particular article in the journal. This example

illustrates the search paths through memory while trying to recollect information after a

long delay.

1.3.1.5 Summary

As discussed previously, the analysis o f "my diary" given earlier illustrates

generally how the two functions o f schema are supposed to operate. With the help of

ideational scaffolding, a reader can have confidence in comprehending the text with

little mental effort. With the help o f default value, a reader can comprehend questions

after the text is read, even when the required information is not presented as input

explicitly in the text. In this way, in providing ideational scaffolding and default value, a

schema can be used as a solution to the problems of inferencing in comprehension.

M ayer’s (1989) three basic processes of learning indicate that readers can select the

important information relevant to the text. The analysis o f "search paths o f an article"

illustrates how schemata function in retrieval o f information.

1.4 The Rationale of Prereading Activities and Information Rehearsal

Given the role of schemata in helping readers to comprehend and remember

what they have read, then the question is: "can we bridge the gap between the text

content and the reader’s lack of schemata by providing prereading activities'?" The

empirical research in the following chapter provides an affirmative answer to this

sections engage this question. My discussion focuses on the rationale o f two prereading

activities—providing background knowledge and previewing in both LI and L2 reading.

In addition, according to Craik and Lockhart (1972), information rehearsal is considered

important in substantial long-term memory o f previously acquired knowledge. Thus, the

value o f using information rehearsal will also be discussed.

1.4.1 The Rationale o f Background Knowledge

According to Chun and Plass (1997: 68), schema theory for L2 reading has

been investigated extensively and appears to be a very useful notion for describing how

prior knowledge is integrated in memory and used in higher-level comprehension

processes (1997: 68). The theory provides a strong rationale for providing background

knowledge. Background Knowledge is used to aid comprehension and is supported by

two cognitive theories; e.g. advance organizers and Langer’s Prep ( Pre Reading Plan)

and some additional conclusions based on empirical research.

1. Advance organizers (Ausubel 1960) emphasize the relationship between

existing cognitive structures and new learning. There are two kinds o f advance

organizers. Expository organizers provide a basic concept "at the highest level of

abstraction" (Ausubel 1960: 252), that is the scaffolding (as discussed earlier p.13)

which enables learners to relate new knowledge to what they already know, thus

assimilating new information. Comparative organizers are used most with relatively

familiar material. They are designed to discriminate between old and new concepts in

order to prevent any confusion which may be caused by similarity. These two kinds o f

advance organizers may be presented as a prereading activity in various ways

Organizers may include: a 200-500 word prose passage, a graphic presentation, a

thematic organizer in the form o f a picture, or a slide-verbal presentation. Advance

organizers provide students with a framework for understanding new material. The

background knowledge is not written at a higher level o f abstraction than the new

materials and this provides students with an organizational framework for

comprehending a text.

2. Another applicable theory which lends support to the use o f background

knowledge is Langer’s (1980) PreP (Pre Reading Plan). In the PreP, teachers create a

condition that allows students to draw upon what they already know about a topic, and

group discussion encourages students to reflect upon the appropriateness o f their ideas

in relation to a specific reading task. In this view, from background knowledge readers

can select key words strongly associated with conceptual and culture-specific

knowledge that is central to the understanding o f the text to be read.

3. Pearson, Hansen, and Gordon (1979) generalize based on their findings (see

empirical studies in Chapter Two) that students who have better developed background

knowledge for a particular topic will understand and remember more than those with

weaker background knowledge. Hayes and Tierney (1982) found that presenting

background information related to the topic helped readers learn from the text regardless

o f how that background information was presented on how specific or general it was.

Taglieber et al. (1988) note that providing background knowledge is a device for bridging

the gap between the text’s content and the reader’s schemata. Their conclusion is

significant for reading materials containing "culture-specific elements which can not be

notion o f comprehension as a process of integrating new information with preexisting

schemata (Chen & Grave 1995: 665).

1.4.2 The Rationale for Using Previewing

Providing a preview as a prereading activity recognizes the different

background knowledge that will influence how students read and learn from a text.

Previewing can promote students’ engagement and interest to anticipate the text.

Previewing is used to aid comprehension and is supported by two theoretical concepts

which account for facilitating effects o f previewing: e.g. compensatory effects o f top-

down strategies, and Mayer’s ‘aids’ (1989) for text comprehension and some additional

arguments based on empirical research.

1. Stanovich’s (1980) interactive-compensatory model (see the discussion in this

Chapter P. 9) lends support to the value of previewing. According to this model, reading

is an interactive process in which readers may also try to compensate for deficiencies at

one level, e.g., word recognition, by relying more on a source at a lower or higher, e.g.,

contextual knowledge (Stanovich, 1980: 32). Therefore, providing readers with top-

down semantic and structural information they may not acquire from their bottom-up

processing o f the text is important.

2. Another applicable theoretical construct is Mayer’s (1989) ‘aids’ for text

comprehension. According to Mayer (1989: 46), an ‘aid’ for text comprehension is

intended to support the reader’s building of internal connections among the units o f the

information presented, for example, organizing the presented information into a

previews can help readers create and remember an interpretation of a text by providing

them with a summary related to the target text before they read.

3. Additional arguments have been made for the use o f previewing by Graves et

al. (1983), McCormick (1989), Dole et al. (1991) and Chen and Graves (1995). Graves

et al. (1983) note that previews can give readers a brief description o f the story’s theme

which helps them to understand characters, setting and point o f view. McCormick

(1989) argues that previews aid students in their reading by providing a purpose-setting

question or directions for reading. Dole et al. (1991) maintain that previews can

motivate students to make connections between topics to be read and their own

experience. They also argue that a preview is helpful because it can focus students’

attention on only global information. Chen and Graves (1995) note that preview can

help students build their knowledge about a story before they read it. Complicated

settings, events, or characters can lead to a difficult reading for students. Therefore, the

story preview can give readers this information in a framework to understand the

characters and events at the text level and beyond.

1.4.3 The Role o f Information Rehearsal

Among the four functions o f the schemata in reading comprehension stated

earlier (pp.13-17), the function of retrieval o f information is determined by the level at

which information is rehearsed (Craik and Lockhart 1972). According to Craik and

Lockhart (1972: 679), deep, semantic rehearsal is associated with higher retention of

information input. Retention is viewed as a function o f the extent to which the

information input then, could be said to depend on the richness with which they are

elaborated. (McDaniel 1984: 47)

Information Rehearsal has been identified as the central mechanism by which

information is transferred from a transient short-term store to a more permanent long­

term memory and also has been formally defined simply in terms of repetition (Waugh

& Norman 1968; Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968;). More recently, theorists have broadened

the scope o f the term "rehearsal" to "encompass more than just rote repetition" (Dark &

Loftus 1976: 480). "Rehearsal can be applied as a label to any active processing that

keeps information available in consciousness such that the information can be

accurately recalled at any time during which it is being rehearsed." (Dark & Loftus

1976:480)

The power of rehearsal, characterized in this way, has been demonstrated in

several studies on delayed comprehension (Bransford and Johnson 1972; Gemsbacher

1990). These studies indicate that allowing overt repetition leads to better performance

on a delayed comprehension test than does preventing rehearsal. Thus, there is support

for the concept o f information rehearsal as a mechanism that results in transfer o f

2

REVIEW OF EMPIRICAL STUDIES

2.1 Introduction

The rationale behind prereading activities has been discussed prevously.

Prereading activities are used to help readers, particularly ESL readers, to build up their

store o f culture and background knowledge. This chapter reviews empirical research

providing insight into how prereading activities enable ESL readers to minimize reading

difficulties and maximize comprehension. Towards the end of this chapter, I outline the

puipose o f my research based on the latest research o f Chen and Graves (1995) and

similar research.

2.2 Studies on Providing Prereading Activities which Facilitate ESL Readers’

Comprehension.

Research between the 1980s and 1990s on prereading activities usually

involved examining the readers’ knowledge by either providing or not providing a

background picture, a title, or a perspective for subjects when a text required culture-

Hudson (1982) looked at the effects o f different prereading exercises intended to

activate schemata on reading performance o f beginning, intermediate and advanced

students, primarily Iranians. In one condition, students were shown pictures related to

the text, which they discussed. Afterwards, students privately generated predictions

about the content o f the text. In a second condition, students were given a list of

vocabulary words and definitions. Both o f these groups answered questions about the

content o f the text. In a third condition, students read the text, answered questions about

it, read the text again, and answered the same questions again. Scores were significantly

higher for the first condition for beginning and intermediate students. There was no

difference for advanced students. Hudson inteipreted this to indicate that advanced

readers were able to activate schemata without help, but at the lower levels, some help

in activating schemata was necessary. This study indicates that prereading exercises are

o f some use to beginning and intermediate students.

CarrelTs study (1983) investigated three components o f background knowledge

using three groups o f subjects from different cultural backgrounds: a group of

undergraduate students who were native speakers o f English, a group o f EFL students

and a group of ESL students both o f different backgrounds. The three separate

components o f background knowledge tested were: context (the presence o f a title and a

picture page preceding the passage); transparency (the presence o f concrete lexical

items within the text which provide textual cues to the content area o f the text); and

familiarity (the presence within the reader o f prior knowledge or experience o f the

content o f the text). Subjects were assigned to one o f the four conditions: context-

transparent, context-opaque, no context-transparent and no context-opaque. Each

subject was asked to read and recall two passages which occurred in two versions: one

was affected by all three components whereas that was not the case for non-native

readers. Carrell concluded that native speakers make use o f contextual cues to do top-

down processing, and that, at least in short term memory, novel information is more

memorable. The non-native speakers in CarrelTs study, on the other hand, were not

particularly proficient at either top-down or bottom-up processing. This brings up a

problem in doing schema research with non-native speakers. The results indicate that

second language readers have not made use of schemata that they have, or that they

have activated an inappropriate schema.

Taglieber et al. (1988) had a group of EFL Brazilian students read four different

reading passages and answer an 8-item open-ended test and a 10-item multiple choice

test. All subjects received all four treatments which consisted o f three different

prereading activities: pictorial context, vocabulary pre-teaching and pre-questioning.

There was also a control condition in which there was no prereading activity. As was

hypothesized, subjects’ comprehension scores were found to be higher when the reading

was preceded by one o f the prereading activities than when it was not. In addition,

vocabulary preteaching was found to be less effective than the two other prereading

activities.

Chen and Graves (1995) investigated the effects o f previewing and providing

background knowledge necessary for Taiwanese college students’ comprehension of

American short stories, and at the same time investigated the effects o f attitude

questionnaires. In this study, 243 non-English major freshmen were randomly assigned

to one o f four treatment groups and read two short stories. Before reading each story,

one group listened to a 200-word preview, a second group listened to a 200-word

and background knowledge presentation. The fourth group read each story without any

prereading assistance. Results showed stronger positive effects o f providing preview

and combined treatments and weaker positive effects of the background knowledge

treatments. Students’ responses to a semantic differential and an open-ended attitude

question showed that they responded positively to all experimental treatments.

In short, it is by pre-reading activities that readers, particularly ESL readers

build up their store o f cultural and background knowledge. Perhaps this is how most

ESL learners eventually master English, and also come to have the kind o f cultural

background and schemata (Rumelhart, 1980) that writers assume readers have to

interpret their writings.

2.3 Research on Prereading Activities and LI and L2 Readers

Research on LI reading comprehension suggests that prereading activities can

be used to provide necessary background knowledge for particular reading tasks (Dole,

Valencia, Greer, & Wardrop, 1991). Prereading activities may help students process

reading tasks with more meaningful anticipation and cognitive readiness than had the

prereading preparation not occurred (Langer 1980: 151).

For L2 students, Carrell (1983) suggests that teachers can use prereading

activities such as text previewing, pre-teaching unfamiliar vocabulary, and providing

prereading questions. And also the results o f Chen and Graves (1995) make a strong

argument that providing preview and background knowledge both have a positive effect

In order to be able to build on Chen and Graves’ (1995) research, my further

discussion will focus on the two prereading activities—providing background

knowledge and previewing used in both LI and L2 research. First, I will review

research on background knowledge in LI and L2, and then preview in LI and L2.

2.3. J Research on Background Knowledge in LI and L2

Pichert and Anderson (1977) had readers pretend they were either burglars or

homebuyers before reading about what two boys did at one o f the boys’ homes while

skipping school. This study found that when reading the text, readers focused more on

the information relevant to their assigned roles. For example, pretend burglars were

more likely to learn that three 10-speed bikes were locked in the garage, and that there

were collections o f coins and paintings. Pretend homebuyers were more likely to learn

about the wall to wall carpeting and spiral staircase. Anderson and Pichert (1978)

carried this research further by asking readers to switch perspectives after their first

attempt to recall. Subjects were able to recall previously unrecalled information

important to their new perspective, but unimportant to their old perspective. Anderson,

Pichert, and Shirey (1983) replicated these findings and discovered there was still an

effect for the perspective shift even when the task was carried out two weeks after the

initial reading. Anderson et al. (1983) concluded that a schema influences learning and

memory when activated before reading, and retrieval when accessed after reading.

Birkmire (1985) had music and engineering students read three passages, one

about canaries, one about music, and one about engineering. For both groups of

subjects, the canary passage contained highly familiar' information. For the music

the engineering passage was unfamiliar; the opposite was true for the engineering

students. Birkmire found the music students spent less time in comprehending the

passages on music and the canary than the passage on engineering; the opposite was

true for the engineering students. This finding suggests that when prior knowledge is

consistent with the target text, comprehension is easier.

Pearson, Hansen and Gordon (1979) tested the comprehension o f second grade

children with high and low knowledge on a passage about spiders. The children differed

on spider knowledge but not on IQ and achievement test scores. Both explicit and

implicit questions were asked to assess comprehension. The high-knowledge group

performed significantly better overall, mainly due to their ability to answer the implicit

questions. This finding suggests that comprehension requiring integration o f text and

world knowledge may be especially facilitated by strong knowledge o f domain content.

Johnson (1982) compared ESL students’ recall on a reading passage on

Halloween. ESL students at the university level from 23 countries read a passage on the

topic o f Halloween. Before they read the passage, Johnson involved them in a

Halloween celebration. Results o f recall protocols suggested that the subjects’

experience o f the Halloween celebration prepared them for comprehension o f the more

unfamiliar information about Halloween in the passage.

2.3.2 Review o f Preview Research in L I and L2 Readers

Previewing is another prereading activity used to provide introductory

information about the content o f an upcoming text. Almost 20 years ago, Graves

provide students with essential background information that they needed to understand

new materials. Two separate experiments (Graves & Cooke, 1980; Graves, Cooke &

LaBerge, 1983) involving upper elementary, junior high, and senior high school

students yielded significant results for both high and low skilled readers as measured by

explicit and implicit multiple-choice questions, story recall, or short answer

comprehension questions. Although these narrative previews involved more than

general knowledge, their results suggest that increasing a student’s knowledge may be

an important step toward improved comprehension. The effects o f previewing

expository texts were further investigated by McCormick (1989) and Dole et al. (1991).

The results o f these studies show that previews can be effective with narrative as well as

expository texts, and with easier as well as more difficult material.

The studies reviewed above all investigated the effect o f previews on LI

readers’ comprehension o f English. Raman (1990 cited in Chen and Graves 1995)

investigated the effects of previewing for difficult short stories on Malaysia University

first year students’ comprehension. The results show students who received the preview

treatment comprehended significantly better than the control group who did not receive

preview.

Over five years later, the effects of previewing an American short story were

further investigated by Chen and Graves (1995) with Taiwanese college students. The

results by Chen and Grave showed that previewing is the more effective treatment

compared to providing background knowledge, and the combined treatment, thus,

2.4 The Research Questions

Previous research suggests that providing both previewing and background

knowledge is effective for both LI and L2 readers. The latest research o f Chen and

Graves ( 1995) shows that previewing was significantly superior to background

knowledge in helping Taiwanese College students’ understanding o f an American short

story. However, no comparable research has been carried out to examine whether

preview and background knowledge differ in their effectiveness for promoting

comprehension in other text types. Also, so far, no research has been done on the long­

term effect o f prereading activities. It is expected that information rehearsal will enrich

preview and background knowledge and in turn contribute to delayed effect o f preview

and background knowledge. Therefore, this study will be a first attempt to investigate

how information rehearsal interacts with preview and background knowledge on EFL

reading comprehension. Specifically, my research questions are:

1. Is previewing superior to background knowledge for a text type other than narrative ?

2. Does information rehearsal enrich prereading activities so as to enhance the efficacy

o f preview and background knowledge?

3. Is the facilitative effect o f schemata on reading comprehension increased when

3

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter outlines the research design and methods which guided this study.

The research methods presented in the chapter are divided into three parts. In the first

part, the instrument is discussed, which includes reading selection, treatment and

testing. In the second pail, I discuss data collection, including selection o f participants,

and the procedure o f data collection. In the third pail, the approach to data analysis is

discussed, including scoring and choosing statistics.

3.2 Research Design

In this study, I used randomized experimental, control groups and immediate

and delayed post test design as set out schematically in Table 3.1.

By "randomized experimental, control" groups, I mean I randomly selected and

grouped 26 students from each of three intact classes into 3 groups (A, B & C). Groups

A and B were experimental groups; Group C was a control group. The two experimental

groups received prereading treatments before the first test, (experimental group A